Public Health Employee

Emergency Preparedness Team

What is Public Health?

If you've ever had a vaccination, assumed the water from your tap is safe, taken your baby to a clinic for a checkup, expected the restaurant you eat in to be clean and safe, been screened for tuberculosis, HIV or a sexually transmitted disease, wondered how to avoid getting Lyme disease, or what to eat to stay healthy, then you've been touched by the efforts of public health employees.

Public health protects and improves communities by preventing epidemics and the spread of disease, promoting healthy lifestyles for children and families, protecting against hazards in homes, work, communities and the environment, assuring high quality health care services, and preparing for and responding to emergencies.

Public health is concerned with protecting the health of entire communities rather than individuals. These communities can be as small as a local neighborhood or as big as an entire country.

The field of public health draws from the skills, experience, and talents of a variety of professional and trained individuals. There are many useful online resources with valuable information on the field of public health; broaden your horizons by exploring them.